Australia had the hottest day in its history yesterday, with the average temperature in the country reaching a historic high of 40.9 degrees Celsius.

The Australian Meteorological Service said ”the extensive heat pushed the mercury above its previous record of 40.3 degrees Celsius”, which was recorded on 7 January 2013.

”The temperature was recorded while Australia was still battling both severe drought and the fire crisis”, as the BBC notes.

Indeed, meteorologists are expecting even more heat later in the week, which means that the current record may soon be surpassed.

Many sub-record temperatures were also surpassed this Tuesday in Australia and in some places the thermometer was even above 45 degrees.

Earlier this week, Perth recorded temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius for three consecutive days.

As hundreds of fires rage, Prime Minister Scott Morrison has received strong criticism for his response to natural disasters and his government’s climate policy.